As House Burned, Georgia Mother Allegedly Killed 3 of Her Kids

A Georgia woman is accused of murdering three of her children during a house fire Friday in Paulding County. Sheriff's deputies say that around 9:20pm that night, they got a call that a home was on fire and a woman inside the home was trying to stab children, 11 Alive reports. First responders found seven children inside, ranging in age from 9 months to 16 years old; the 9-month-old and a 3-year-old were dead at the scene. Children ages 5, 9, and 11 years old were taken to the hospital with injuries, and the 5-year-old did not survive. The 14- and 16-year-old children found at the scene were not injured.

Distraught neighbors tell Fox 5 Atlanta some children jumped from a second-story window, and local residents were spotted trying to help some of the kids get out. "For that woman to do that is unbelievably selfish. All she had to do was take the kids to a hospital ... drop them off," one neighbor says. "I just don’t know who would do that to their kids," adds another. Darlene Brister, 40, has been charged with two counts of malice murder, and prosecutors say additional charges are expected. The 9-year-old child was in critical but stable condition as of Sunday. Brister is due in court Monday morning. (More Georgia stories.)